2005-6 Marin Winter Mountain Bike Series
Thetford Forest

RACE REPORT

RACE PHOTO GALLERIES
Photos © Joolze Dymond

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Photos © Joolze Dymond
To see more photos from this event, visit Joolze's website: Joolze Dymond

Marin Winter Series Round 2

Report & Pics: Joolze Dymond
Marin Winter Series round 2
Sunday 27 November 2005

A cold northerly wind and the threat of snow did little to deter the competitors who bravely lined up to contest the 2nd round of the Marin winter series. Nearly 230 riders commenced battle around the unrelenting 5.1mile course in Thetford Forest, enduring not only sub zero temperatures, but also freezing rain, sticky mud and for some broken seat posts.

4HR.
The 4hr riders got underway first, forging their way through the tough sticky mud, carving rideable lines through the gloopy singletrack, slogging up the strength-sapping climb. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the leading riders Gavin Rumbles, George Budd, Paul Ashby& Lloyd Bettles put in a fantastic first lap covering the distance in just under 23 mins. As the race progressed the times slowed as the conditions took their toll on the riders. Despite this, the fight for first place in the men’s 4hr race was a close run thing, with the leading riders matching each other pace for pace.

After 3 hrs, Paul Ashby slipped back from the group. Riding, as he was, the vets race, he decided to concentrate on winning that, leaving Budd, Rumbles and Bettles to battle it out.

4 laps from the end Rumbles, took a fall, but fortunately for him Budd & Bettles couldn’t capitalise on his misfortune and he soon regained contact with them. With two laps to go, Rumbles made a bid for freedom, which neither Budd nor Bettles could respond to. After 10 laps in all, Rumbles came in to claim his second win of the series, with Budd losing 10 mins on the last lap to claim second whilst Bettles came in with 9 laps to clinch 3rd a clear 16 min ahead of 4th placed rider Philip Peacock.

In the 4hr Vets race Paul Ashby once again dominated the field, taking his second win of the series, a full lap clear of second placed rider James Carpenter, completing the 4 hr race as the only vet to complete 10 laps.

Jenn Hopkins also dominated her field in the women’s 4hr race; her usual singlespeed steed a fine choice for the bike clogging conditions. Her 8 laps secured her a second win in the series, though she addmitted she found the going incredibly tough. Tracey Miles conceded 15 mins to Jenn to claim 2nd, with Jane Geddes completing the podium line up in 3rd.

2HR.
The 2hr competitors were set off 10 mins after the start of the 4hr, the former churning up the course under tyre as they went. This didn’t deter the 2hr riders as they set off at a fantastic pace, led from the front by Adi Scott. Fresh from a recent holiday in the hot desert of Arizona, Scott blazed a trail for the first hour, but the near Arctic conditions (and lack of training) saw him blow to pieces to finally limp home in 60th spot.

The race lead was then taken by Ben Loaker and vet rider Jef Sharp. As in the men’s 4hr, a right royal battle was played out between the two riders, with Loaker taking the win a mere 4 secs ahead of Sharp. Meanwhile the remaining podium positions were being fought over by 4 riders, Anthony Roland, Chris Hunt, John McAndrew & Ian Grist. Roland managed to take 2nd with Hunt pipping McAndrew & Grist to claim 3rd.

7 minutes after Vet race winner Jef Sharp came home in first position, the race behind for the runner up spot was equally enthralling as the ding-dong battle between Sharp & Loaker. This time Kim Marsh & Richard Muchmore & Jack Peterson were in the running. As the finish line approached, it was Marsh who managed to find the speed to come home in second a mere 4 secs ahead of Singlespeeder, Muchmore. Peterson came home a minute or so adrift unsure of how he managed to let the 3rd spot slip away from him.

In the 2hr women’s race Meggie Richard came home to take her second win of the series, with Sara Flatt bettering her 3rd spot last time to take 2nd at this round. Behind them, Claire Sadler took third with Anna Buick fourth.

Budding photographer Gary Noakes managed to shoot off some pics of the first two races before running back to the start line of his own race in the Fun class. He quickly covered the 2 lap course in just under 55mins, to take first spot, before dashing off again to take some more shots of the continuing races. 2nd in the fun was Richard Hughes, whilst Paul Barber took 3rd.

Despite the Arctic conditions, spirits were high as the riders fought it out in the sticky Thetford mud. I don’t think anyone who rode this course will ever say that racing at Thetford is too easy. With good use of the flowing singletrack, some devious twists and turns coupled with slippy tree roots, a soul sapping drag and gloopy mud made this a race to remember. Hopefully at the next round the weather will be kinder, but we know the racing will be just as hard and just as memorable. See you there on the 22nd of January, where event sponsors Marin will be there to show you their latest line up. Matt Hart from Torq will be there to answer your questions about nutrition and training whilst supplying you with numerous goodies in the Torq nutrition range and Tyrone from Tutto Bici will be on hand to sort out those niggling bike mechanicals.

2005-6 Marin Winter Series Round 2

Results

Results for 10 lap 4HR - MALE race
Pos Laps Time Num Name
1 10 04:12:34 686 GAVIN RUMBLES (CC LUTON)
2 10 04:23:25 526 GEORGE BUDD (BEYOND MOUNTAIN BIKES/MAXIS)
3 9 04:01:12 509 LLOYD BETTLES (NUMPLUMZ.COM/RICHARDSONS CYCLES)
4 9 04:17:13 666 PHILIP PEACOCK (JT CYCLES)
5 9 04:20:07 685 JON SHEASBY (GRAFHAM WATER)
6 9 04:21:07 503 JO BURT (MINT SAUCE/KONA/SINGLESPEED)
7 8 03:58:12 535 SHAUN HURRELL (MALDON & DISTRICT CC)
8 8 04:03:13 693 RICHARD MILLS (TORQ BAR)
9 8 04:08:54 676 CHRIS NIGHTINGALE
10 8 04:10:42 679 PAUL FACER (SKID MARKS)
11 8 04:11:47 504 JOHN LEMONIUS (CAMP BRIGHTON)
12 8 04:16:22 665 STEPHEN WHITE (SPARKY RACING)
13 8 04:30:16 669 ANDREW SEARCY (CATS MBC)
14 8 04:32:07 511 NICK OAKLEY (CYCLONE MBC)
15 8 04:34:42 472 NICHOLAS SAYER
16 7 03:22:57 536 DAN OAKLEY (CHELMER CYCLES)
17 7 03:44:55 512 MARK CARELESS (CLIMB-ON-BIKES RT)
18 7 03:55:23 670 PETER BERRY (RIDEBEYOND/BIKE & RUN)
19 7 03:55:24 448 CRAIG TINDALL (RIDE BEYOND BIKE RUN)
20 7 04:03:41 522 RICHARD CRAVEN

Results for 10 lap 4HR - MALE PLUS race
1 10 04:15:22 673 PAUL ASHBY (FAT BIRDS DON'T FLY)
2 9 04:13:55 498 JAMES CARPENTER
3 9 04:16:08 683 WARREN MILES (CLIMB ON BIKES)
4 9 04:21:26 507 GARY HILL (CATS MBC)
5 9 04:23:10 681 MICHAEL READ (BUZZARDS MTB)
6 8 04:13:58 668 RAYMOND HALLAM (SW RC/SUNDAY RIDERS)
7 8 04:14:43 445 PHILIP COOPER
8 8 04:15:58 690 ROBERT MCGRADY (SANJAN DESIGN)
9 8 04:25:26 496 GEOFFREY WILKINSON
10 8 04:25:40 664 MARK HOWES (WELLAND VALLEY CC)
11 8 04:27:53 689 NIGEL LEE
12 8 04:28:16 698 DAVID STEELE (LONDON PHOENIX )
13 7 03:44:37 500 MARTIN PERRY
14 7 03:56:42 677 NEIL SMITH
15 7 04:02:33 444 DANILO SIMBARI
16 6 03:45:31 688 MATTHEW SMITH
17 6 03:50:41 687 ANDREW HEARN
18 6 04:28:00 491 KEN MUTCHELL (ROMAN STONES)
19 5 03:18:07 443 ANDY HILL
20 5 04:19:37 477 SIMON ELMS-GARNER (CYCLONE)
21 4 02:11:07 485 TREVOR BALE (NORWICH A B C)
22 4 02:16:17 694 STUART MCLAUGHLAN (CHELMSFORD)
23 4 02:45:55 435 MARK HIRD
24 0 00:00:00 495 SIMON PALMER (MILDENHALL CC)

Results for 8 lap 4 HR - FEMALE race
Pos Laps Time Num Name
1 8 04:06:34 501 JENN HOPKINS (MINX/KONA)
2 8 04:22:49 682 TRACY MILES (CLIMB ON BIKES)
3 7 03:58:14 667 JANE GEDDES (SW RC/SUNDAY RIDERS)
4 7 04:15:38 697 ABIGAIL ARMSTRONG (LONDON PHOENIX)
5 2 01:11:52 674 LYNNE COLDRAY (BUZZARDS MTB)

Results for 5 lap 2HR JUNIOR - MALE race
1 5 02:06:36 587 JAKE MOXHAM (DYSONS CYCLES.CO.UK)
2 5 02:07:44 523 MICHAEL SMITH (TEAM MK)
3 5 02:17:29 524 MARCUS HAYNES (TUTTO BIC)
4 4 02:07:20 514 JASON GOLLAGLEE (KINGS LYNN CC)
5 4 02:21:57 436 THOMAS HARCOURT
6 3 01:46:56 466 PAUL HANSON
7 3 01:55:36 428 TOM HIRD
8 2 01:05:36 555 MATTHEW FREESTONE
9 2 01:18:28 559 ADAM FREEMAN (GODIVA TRAIL RIDES)
10 1 00:35:24 499 AARON SMITH
11 0 00:00:00 557 LEWIS MARSH

Results for 5 lap 2HR - MALE race
1 5 02:03:43 558 BEN LOAKER
2 5 02:10:08 505 ANTHONY ROLAND (TEAM TORQ BAR)
3 5 02:10:50 442 CHRIS HUNT (GODALMING CYCLES)
4 5 02:10:56 475 JOHN MCANDREW (OVER THE HILL/SINGLESPEED/BEN HEYWARD CYCLES)
5 5 02:10:58 586 IAN GRIST (DYSONS CYCLES)
6 5 02:15:39 482 MAX JEFFRIES (BRISTOL UNI)
7 5 02:18:05 478 GORDON HOLLINGWORTH
8 5 02:18:45 459 VICTOR DE OLIVEIRA (VELO SPORT ASNIERES)
9 5 02:20:15 599 CHRIS PLAYFORD
10 5 02:25:15 553 ALEX MAGILTON
11 5 02:25:56 577 STEPHEN HEATHCOCK
12 5 02:25:58 525 NICK EVANS (BEYOND MOUNTAIN BIKES/TITUS CYCLES UK)
13 5 02:28:30 486 ELDRIK HARTLEY (PRINCES TRUST/COSTA RICA CHALLENGE)
14 5 02:30:46 510 NATHAN THOMAS (CYCLONE MTB CLUB)
15 5 02:30:53 534 CHRIS RIDLEY (MALDON & DIST CC)
16 5 02:31:16 446 NIGEL STONEBRIDGE
17 5 02:32:03 646 JASON TURNER (VC NORWICH)
18 5 02:33:00 653 SIMON BRERETON (CAMBRIDGE UNI CC/ALPINEROOTZ/SOLIDLIGHTS)
19 5 02:33:34 462 NEIL COOPER
20 5 02:34:46 465 LEE MURPHY
21 4 01:57:03 657 DENNIS ANDREWS (PORK PIE)
22 4 01:57:19 492 PAUL CHAMPNESS
23 4 02:00:22 502 MARK CHURCH (TUTTI BICI)
24 4 02:00:26 568 JON SADLER (BICESTER MILLENNIUM CC)
25 4 02:00:37 659 MARTIN DAVIES
26 4 02:02:17 593 AARON WARD (B U R G)
27 4 02:02:18 474 MARK PEACOCK (CYCLONE MTB CLUB)
28 4 02:03:01 567 RICHARD TILLER (BOCKING MTBers)
29 4 02:03:14 655 MICHAEL MALLET
30 4 02:03:56 581 DANIEL WOOD
31 4 02:04:37 532 MALCOLM BORY
32 4 02:04:43 598 STUART WALSH
33 4 02:05:20 594 ANDY BAIN (WVAC)
34 4 02:05:24 461 PAUL EMMERSON (TEAM FLOW RACING)
35 4 02:05:40 588 MATT ELLIS (SOUTHAMPTON UNI)
36 4 02:05:41 589 ANDY PENN (SOUTHAMPTON UNI)
37 4 02:05:53 582 ADAM JORDAN (RAF CC)
38 4 02:06:09 516 PHILIP ORME
39 4 02:07:26 533 BEN ROBINSON (GO GO GADGET LEGS)
40 4 02:08:01 583 DAVE PENNY
41 4 02:08:09 566 LANCE ALEXANDER (L.A.MOZART)
42 4 02:09:16 565 SIMON STRONG (BEDS ROAD CC)
43 4 02:09:38 469 SCOTT PREECE (GODIVA TRAILRIDERS)
44 4 02:09:54 519 KEVIN ORME
45 4 02:12:31 597 NEIL TAYLOR (GODIVA TRAILRIDERS)
46 4 02:13:41 487 JAMIE WARDER (BOCKING MTBers)
47 4 02:15:19 562 COLIN HERD (MTB-BIKES.COM)
48 4 02:15:55 585 JOSH TROTTER (TRAX BUNTINGFORD)
49 4 02:17:00 479 MARK CHALLIS
50 4 02:17:52 564 MARK PHILO
51 4 02:20:10 490 SIMON GRANGER
52 4 02:20:31 453 RICHARD STALEY
53 4 02:20:33 650 KEVIN PARKER (TEAM CAMBRIDGE)
54 4 02:23:07 489 ALISDAIR GOURLAY
55 4 02:26:18 647 ANDREW FLEMING (PORTSMOUTH UNI MTB)
56 4 02:32:27 572 DAREN TRILL
57 4 02:40:27 648 JAMES STACEY
58 4 02:46:16 484 ADAM ROBBINS
59 4 02:46:18 471 NEAL SUGAR
60 3 01:14:40 517 ADRIAN SCOTT (FREERIDE SPAIN.COM/MUMPLUMZ.COM)
61 3 01:33:25 464 SEAN MURPHY
62 3 01:48:20 573 GARY ANDERSON (TIFOSI CYCLES)
63 3 02:08:28 460 JAMES GODDARD
64 3 02:09:37 470 ROBERT BURNES (SIXSIXONE/O'NEAL/AZONIC/INTENSE/SUBMIT RACING)
65 2 01:14:30 506 ANDY ARMSTRONG (CHELMER CYCLES)
66 2 01:28:49 483 DANIEL PRICE
67 1 00:23:48 560 NIGEL SCOTT (FAT BIRDS DON'T FLY)
68 1 00:32:45 488 NICK ROBINS (BOCKING MTBers)
69 1 00:42:30 518 DAVID TOZER
70 0 00:00:00 550 JOHN SMITH (NUMPLUMZ.COM)
71 0 00:00:00 551 NIGEL STONEBRIDGE
72 0 00:00:00 552 CHRIS MORRIS

Results for 5 lap 2HR - MALE PLUS race
1 5 02:03:47 652 JEF SHARP (BEN HAYWARD CYCLES/OVER THE HILL)
2 5 02:10:51 556 KIM MARSH (INTER BIKE RT)
3 5 02:10:55 651 RICHARD MUCHMORE (TEAM MUTTS NUTS)
4 5 02:12:29 656 JACK PETERSON (NUMPLUMZ.COM)
5 5 02:14:14 596 GEOFFREY BREWSTER (JT CYCLES)
6 5 02:16:26 527 PHIL BUICK (BEYOND MOUNTAIN BIKES / MAXXIS/EXPOSURE LIGHTS)
7 5 02:19:22 494 MIKE MURRAY (OVER THE HILL/BEN HAYWARD)
8 5 02:19:24 576 BRIAN WILLIS (CAMBRIDGE CC)
9 5 02:19:34 439 STUART LOCKYEAR (BLACKHEATH CC)
10 5 02:22:12 463 RICHARD EMMERSON (FLOW RACING)
11 5 02:22:24 549 MATT BUTLER
12 5 02:23:42 515 IAN WARNES (VC NORWICH)
13 5 02:25:18 592 RON RUTGERS (NUMPLUMZ.COM)
14 4 01:56:41 658 DALE WALLACE (BORRWELL CYCLES)
15 4 02:00:29 563 DAVID FRASER
16 4 02:01:26 591 ALAN WEBB (DYSONS CYCLES)
17 4 02:01:46 574 ALAN HEMBROW
18 4 02:05:25 561 ALAN WILSON
19 4 02:06:28 580 TONY TIMBERLAKE (DYSONS CYCLES)
20 4 02:08:15 584 JONATHAN WRIGHT (BOCKING MTBers)
21 4 02:09:39 476 DAVID EVERARD (BOCKING MTBers)
22 4 02:15:45 645 MARK DAVIES (TREADS MTB)
23 4 02:16:48 493 GARY TELFORD
24 4 02:20:32 660 PAUL MILLARD (TEAM CAMBRIDGE)
25 4 02:25:41 595 CHRIS CANHAM
26 4 02:26:17 457 MIKE DEMPSTER (TREADS MTB)
27 4 02:29:05 579 NICK GILFORD
28 4 02:34:58 554 DUNCAN FREESTONE
29 3 01:37:58 649 BOYD MORGAN (DYSONS CYCLES)
30 3 01:43:03 578 NEIL HUKE
31 3 02:19:14 473 PETER LAWRENCE
32 2 01:24:10 545 PAUL MARSHALL (PHAT FRENZY)
33 1 00:42:45 520 DAVID TILLY
34 1 01:27:22 508 PETER RUDITIS
35 0 00:00:00 548 RICHARD HALL (JT CYCLES)
36 0 00:00:00 570 JEFFERY BUSHROD (TEAM CAMBRIDGE)

Results for 4 lap 2HR - FEMALE race
1 4 02:10:37 481 MEGGIE RICHARD (SMART COACHING)
2 4 02:14:02 529 SARA FLATT (BEYOND MOUNTAIN BIKES / MAXXIS/EXPOSURE LIGHTS)
3 4 02:21:24 569 CLAIRE SADLER (BICESTER MILLENNIUM CC)
4 4 02:29:20 530 ANNA BUICK (BEYOND MOUNTAIN BIKES / MAXIS/EXPOSURE LIGHTS)
5 4 02:42:12 571 CLARE ALLEN (TEAM CAMBRIDGE)
6 3 02:15:43 654 DEBORAH GREEN
7 3 02:24:50 590 SUE HEARN
8 2 01:24:09 546 BEVERLEY RIPPON (XENA RACING)
9 0 00:00:00 575 LYNN SCOTT

Results for 2 lap FUN race
1 2 00:54:31 456 GARY NOAKES (FOSSIL ZOO)
2 2 00:55:33 537 RICHARD HUGHES (IPSWICH BICYCLE CLUB)
3 2 00:56:18 447 PAUL BARBER (DYSON CYCLES)
4 2 00:57:13 451 CRAIG FINCH
5 2 00:58:15 452 SAM DOMAN
6 2 00:59:47 547 SIMON BOWDEN
7 2 01:02:27 542 DAVID ROBERTSON
8 2 01:05:59 539 KURTIS PACK
9 2 01:09:28 449 ALEX BAKER
10 2 01:09:30 450 F BAKER
11 2 01:12:40 468 ANGELA PARKER (TEAM CAMBRIDGE)
12 2 01:24:55 543 RACHELLE FARRELL
13 1 00:48:47 454 GEORGE COLEMAN
14 0 00:00:00 538 CLIVE PACK
15 0 00:00:00 540 ANDREW GLADDING
16 0 00:00:00 541 MICHAEL SMITH
17 0 00:00:00 544 IAN MILLARD (TEAM CAMBRIDGE)